The Best Dipping Belts

Get the perfect belt for your dips or pull ups

Dips and pull ups are a great upper bodyweight exercises for building muscle and strength.

Without a belt to add extra weight to your dips or pullups, you are limited to your body weight alone. If you perform them regularly, you will soon find that you can easily lift your own body weight.

This is when you will require a dip belt to add resistance and to make progress. In this case, you will want a reliable, comfortable and durable belt.

Here we have some of the best dip belts for weighted exercises in the market today and we cover the many aspects to consider before buying.

A dipping belt is worn around the waist but in a lower position than a normal powerlifting belt. It usually features a chain which barbell weights are attached to making it hang off the hips. By attaching weights, the overall body weight is increased thus making body-weight based exercises such as tricep dips and pullups more demanding.

These are great for muscular development of the triceps, especially in the higher range of reps. Dips are a also regularly used as an exercise to support powerlifting. In this case, a lower range of reps is used (around 4-8 reps).

Since these are known to be some of the best exercises to increase strength and size in their given muscle groups, by increasing amount of weight moved with a belt, you will have some of the most powerful exercises available.

Following our testing, we can reveal below is our selection of the best belts for dipping today:

This is probably the best dipping belt that we can come across and also the most comfortable belt for dips that we have ever tried. It features a patented technology to maintain its durability while still feeling nice on the back. The materials are military grade and it will easily hold 270lbs of weights. It comes with options of black or camouflage (our particular favourite) and is also versatile enough that it can be used for other exercises such as weight sled training. Plus, it is suitable for vegans.

There is no break in period for this as it is constructed from different high quality materials to a leather dip belt. These make it very lightweight and easy on the back and hips. When using this, we found that is easier to concentrate fully on the exercise rather than on the belt which is a great thing. It’s light weight means that it does not feel like it needs to be taken off for other exercises either. So if you switch between exercises a lot such as with supersets, this is great. The weights can also be quickly added and removed to aid this.

We also found the additional hoops around the belt particularly useful for other tasks like weight sled training. All in all, this is a great, strong and comfortable belt with many uses, not just for dipping.

This is strongest dip belt we have ever seen! It features IronMind’s patented Wicked-Strong technology and is capable at lifting over 1000lbs. This insane strength makes it a great belt for not only your usual tricep dips, pull ups and squats, but also dragging. If you want to drag a small car that is!

We tested the De Rigueur with 200lbs attached and it easily passed the test without breaking a sweat. Also, it’s worth noting with this weight attached it was very easy on the back and hips. This isn’t a big heavy belt either as it’s compact and lightweight design makes it easy to fold away into a gym bag. This is perfect for the heavy lifters or those that want peace of mind that their belt won’t break.

The Harbinger belt has a more classic weighted dipping belt design featuring a chain which the weights are attached to. This is a proven design which has been tried and tested since the appearance of dipping belts. The belt is made from a tough polypropylene material which is thick and rigid at first but soon adapts with some wear. The chain and clip system makes it quick and easy to attach and remove weights and it is is still fairly comfortable when lifting the heavier weights (150lb+). To summarise, this is a very sturdy and good belt for it’s price.

This is a very good dipping belt for those on a budget. It’s specification is quite similar to our #3 belt, the Harbinger but being not quite as comfortable or thick. The weight that is can support is good for it’s price being 500lb. Again, this features a contoured taper design like the Harbinger dip belt.

As you can see from this article, there are quite a few choices when it comes to selecting the right weighted exercise belt for you. The Champion belt is another contender for some of the best. Being a well manufactuered leather dip belt with a chain, this will certainly last a very a long time. Apart from the Brute Belt mentioned earlier, this is also the most comfortable on our list. So whilst being nice to feel, the leather is also very strong. We highly recomend this to anyone wanting a comfortable, heavy duty and long lasting dip belt.

Using A Dip Belt

Pecs and Tricep Dips

As the name suggests, a dipping belt is used to make dip exercise more challenging. Once you are in the position where you can perform these exercises easily, its time to use a belt if you want to continue to progress and gain the benefits. For the pectorals and triceps, a classic tricep dip is usually performed with the belt around the waist and weight hanging between the legs. For loading, its a good idea to begin with %10 of your body weight.

Chin Ups and Pull Ups

Chin ups or pull ups are performed in the usual pull up fashion from a bar suspended above with a narrow underhand grip or wide grip at about shoulder width. Both of these work the back muscles (mostly the lats) with the narrow grip having more impact on the biceps. Many people struggle with this exercise without a dipping belt, so if you are adding a belt to this exercise, you are doing well. With the belt loaded with weights, you should hold the bar with your chosen grip and hang with the arms straight. At this point the weights should be dangling between the legs attached to the belt. Then bend your arms to pull yourself up until your chin is at the point of the bar. Then slowly return to the start position and repeat.

Squats

Another less-known use of the dipping belt is for squats or hip-belt squats. This is a leg exercise but without the forces acting on the back as is associated with normal squats. You attach weights to the belt which are usually smaller in diameter to allow for more movement. Then with your feet at a shoulder width distance apart, you lower yourself like in a regular squat. When your legs hit the 90 degree angle (parallel), you slowly raise yourself up to a standing position and repeat. These go perfectly with a good pair of squat shoes or female weightlifting footwear.

Safety

For the heavy lifters, it’s important to consider the maximum load of the belt which varies between manufacturers. Also, warm up sets without a belt are important before putting on a dip belt and performing weighted sets.

Getting The Correct Belt For Weighted Dips

Dip belts are pretty simple so there’s not an overwhelming amount consider when choosing the right one. Pretty much the best dip belts will support the amount of weight that we need to lift and should also be comfortable to wear. Adjustability is a good feature but many belts will also just hang off the hips which is perfectly fine.

Dipping Belt Material

Most of these belts are leather. If you get a good quality belt, it can last you for a very long time, just like any other weightlifting belt. Now, many more recent belts are constructed from synthetic materials such as the Brute Belt. These are just as good as a leather belt and are often more comfortable but there is sometimes a chance that the materials are not as hard wearing, hence will not last quite as long.

Dipping Belt Sizing

Most belts for dipping are one size fits all but there are some belts which have options for adjustment to make the belt fit correctly. But the basic concept is that the majority of them is that the they go around back and using the weights attached and gravity to then hang off the hips. This way, the belt isn’t tight but it also does not fall off during exercises and this also removes the need for specific sizes.

Dipping Belt Chains

Most of these belts feature a chain that is passed through the centre of the barbell weights and then attaches back to the belt. These chains can sometimes vary in length depending on the belt. It’s worth considering the length of the chain depending on where you intend to do your dips. If you perform dips on a raised platform you can have a longer chain. However if you do your dips lower to the ground a shorter chain is required. With the correct tools it is possible to just adjust the length of the chain, or wrap it round the weights.

Also, at the end of the chain is usually a carabiner clip. On the cheaper belts this tends to bend over time and so is the first thing that often needs replacing.

How Should A Good Dipping Belt Last?

I purchased my current good old faithful dipping belt well over 5 years ago and it is still going strong and still often used.

Unfortunately the manufacturer no longer makes these but it goes to show how selecting the correct belt will last you a very long time.

Here you can see that the carabiner clip which attaches the chain to the end of the belt has bent slightly over the years of abuse. However, this is the only sign of strain on this old belt.

How To Use A Dip Belt

Using a dip belt is very simple, you just need to thread the chain through the middle of the barbell weights. But there are a few different ways of putting on a dipping belt and it all depends on your preference.

Weights On First

In order to put your dipping belt in this way, you have to do first past the chain through the middle of your dumbbells which you are going to use for this set. Then you reattach the clip back to the belt, forming a complete circle with the weights attached to the belts. Next you step into the belt while it is on the floor and crouch down so that it can reach your waist without the weights be lifted from the floor. Then you pull the back section of the weight up to your hips. This is where your dip belt will be worn. After this you slowly stand up lifting weights of the floor and you have successfully put on your dip belt.

Belt On First

This is a generally quick way of putting your dip belt on First you usually need to unhook the clip from one end of the chain. It’s a good idea to have the weights on their side, leaning against your leg or a wall as you crouch down next to them. Then, whilst holding the belts around your waist with one hand, you pass the chain through the belts with the other hand. Then you reattach to chain to the belt and slowly stand up lifting the weights of the floor and you have your dip belt on.

Alternatives To Using a Dipping Belt

There are some alternatives to using a dipping belt to add resistance to your tricep dip and pull up exercises.

Weighted Backpack

It’s possible to use a backpack filled with weights as an alternative to a belt for weighted dips. However there are some downsides to this:

Limited to how many you can fit in the backpack

The backpack will eventually break i.e the stitching will give somewhere

Can be difficult to put backpack on with a high amount of weight in it. Often a buddy is needed to put weights in while it is on your back.

You will look like a wierdo in the gym

Dumbbells Between Legs

You can also hold a dumbbell between your legs as you perform tricep dips or pullups. It is common to see people doing this, but again this does have some downsides:

You can usually only hold a single dumbbell

It takes practice to be able to hold the weight between your legs

It can be difficult to hold onto the weights for a long period of time

Conclusion

So it is clear from our list that there a lot of different types of dip belts on the market and quite a few things to consider. The best dip belt will be one that allows you to add the necessary amount of weight safely while still being comfortable to wear. There is a wide range such as the Brute which has a number of alternative functions to just only dipping and there are more basic versions with a chain too. But at the end of the day, most people are looking for a belt which fits the above criteria.

We hope that this buying guide has been helpful for readers hoping to find the best weight dip belt for their sport or bodybuilding goals. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to add them below. Also, if you used a different weighted dip belt or have a weight belt for dips that you are particularly fond of, we would love to hear your opinion also.

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